Monkey Woman, Issue 1: Secret Origins
by Rurouni Tyriel
Summary: Who Wants to be a Superhero? Before the gathering of heroes, we travel back to see the origins of Monkey Woman. Why does she battle evil? How did she acquire her powers? All this and more.


Africa.

The heart of the Congo, where the great apes roamed freely, and civilization was considerably farther off than a mere stone's throw away. Where jungles were so thick one wasn't able to ride a jeep, they had to go on foot. And in some places, too thick even for that sort of passage. It was hot, it was wet, it was humid. And it was teeming with life.

It was this last feature that had brought Dr. Rene Votava to the heart of Africa. Specifically, to study a recently discovered new species of monkey, recently christened the _Vir preliator_ subspecies. Their discovery had been made only two months ago by a colleague. Unfortunately, she and her husband worked as a team on the expedition, and given the short time they had, they hadn't been able to find anyone to take care of their kid. Thus, she'd had little choice but to bring their ten-year-old daughter along with her.

She made it seem like a camping trip, almost.

"Honey!" she called out. "Where's our fresh water!"

"Over by the equipment cases Mom!" she replied, busy as she was doing what every self-respecting ten-year-old would be doing on a camping trip. Playing.

There weren't many toys out here, but she'd made it a game of climbing trees surrounding their small makeshift campsite, challenging herself to go higher and higher each time. Every time she did she'd always call down to mom. "Look how high I am now!"

"That's nice sweetie," Dr. Votava would reply, barely glancing up from her notes. The thrill had worn off after the first few days. Plus, she knew her little Mariam would never be able to climb too high. None of the trees around had many branches within close reach of one another. She'd have to be a monkey herself to reach them.

Dr. Rene Votava was a slender woman in her early thirties, and still good looking enough few could believe she had a daughter until they were introduced to the little hellion. Her hair was a light shade of brown, her eyes a pleasant greenish color, and despite her occupation her skin was still as smooth and pale as ivory. She was from France originally, but she went wherever the work required her to go, studying new species out in the wild. It was her passion.

Idly, Rene smiled to herself, even as she jotted down the latest of her notes. She was a little concerned bringing along her daughter on a scientific observation trip would've been chaotic. Either she'd run around wild (and she did, plenty of times) or she'd be so bored of what her mom was doing she'd go stir crazy. Thankfully, neither had occurred. She'd even come along with her mother on several trips to observe the new monkeys, and spotted a few things even she'd overlooked.

She had the markings of a real scientist in her, and she couldn't have been happier.

"Look how high I am now!"

"That's nice dear," she replied, smiling to herself, again not bothering to look up as she took a swig of fresh water. A pity, for if she had bothered to look up, she might've noticed her little girl was a good two stories off the ground.

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Mary sighed, swinging her legs as she peered down at the camp site, watching her mom work. It was dull sometimes, being out here all alone, no kids her age. It was just her, her parents, and Jimmy. Although he -preferred- to be called Dr. James Kraus. He was no fun at all.

Mary Votava was on the smallish side, tomboyish, with muscular arms and legs and just a hint of babyfat left on her body that would no doubt be up and gone in another year or two when she hit puberty. Her hair was long, thick, and dark brown, inherited from her father, as was the dark brown eyes.

Idly she sighed again, reaching up to brush back her thick, dark brown hair, which was already grimy and sticky in the hot air. Only one shower a day allowed out here, and that was one of the few times she was actually let into the trailer. They slept outside in tents, which was cool for a while, but now she was sore all over from sleeping on rocks and sticks and such. And she'd spent some of her time exploring when Mom and Jimmy were off comparing notes in the trailer and such. She liked watching the monkeys but then they had to spend days talking and talking about them. Honestly, she liked them but there was only so much you could say.

She'd rather be doing stuff.

Mary Votava slid down the last few branches and lightly hopped down onto the ground, cheering to herself as she landed on her feet.

"Having fun, little one?"

Mary gave a brief shriek and spun around, startled out of her wits as Jimmy came out of the brush, pushing aside leaves and such to make his walk easier. He was a taller man, taller than her mom, taller than her dad had been too, and very muscular. He didn't look much like the scientists she knew, who tended to be pale and really skinny. He looked more like an explorer, rugged, short but powerful, and deeply tanned from long hours in the sun. A pair of glasses rested on his nose, and a scraggly black beard was on his chin.

She thought it looked rather silly, but she didn't ever say that aloud to him.

"Don't scare me like that!" she snapped at him, fists on her hips, pouting in the way only a ten-year-old can.

He smirked, unimpressed. "You should stray too far from camp, little one. Wild animals around here, you know... might gobble you up," he said, walking past her, ruffling her dirty brown hair as he did.

"Ooooh!" she said, unable to come up with a proper retort but angry as all hell. "Hmf!" she replied haughtily, before stalking off, deliberately walking in the opposite direction that Dr. Kraus was heading. Fortunately, this proved to be apt, for following close behind was her father, Mark Votava, and she went running down the last few feet into his arms, and he caught and swung her up lightly, though he did so with just a hint of protest and remarked on how she seemed to be getting heavier every time he did it.

"And just where're you running off to?" he asked, a good-natured smile on his face.

"Just wanted to go and see the waterfall again," she replied, referring to a very short series of rapids downstream from where they were. Hardly a waterfall, but to her, it was niagra falls.

He nodded, setting her down. "Be back in an hour, it's gonna be getting dark soon."

"Okay daddy!"

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James smirked to himself, adjusting his glasses as he made his way to sit down beside his colleage Rene. "Really shouldn't have brought that kid along," he stated without preamble. It was his way to cut directly to the chase. "This is a scientific expedition, not a camping trip for you two and your daughter."

"Mary is keeping out from underfoot," replied Rene, double-checking her notes and giving James barely any attention at all. "And I needn't add that she spotted two of the monkeys we're looking for in twenty minutes... you couldn't find them after nearly a week," she chided.

He bristled at that, but it -was- true, after all.

"Kid got lucky. At least now we know where they are," he replied, sitting up and grabbing a nearby crate, rummaging through it for some of his equipment.

"Mmhmmm," she replied. "Which means we can take a small hike tomorrow and keep them under observation for the next few days..."

A soft click interrupted her, and Rene Votava's eyes snapped open wide. Slowly, she turned her head, finding herself face-to-barrel with a loaded handgun. A handgun held in the capable hands of Dr. James Kraus, who was wearing a most evil smirk on his face.

"I'm afraid not, good doctor... er... hands up please?" he asked politely, motioning with his weapon. Dimly, Rene complied, though her mind was racing a thousand miles a minute.

"Hey, what's going...?"

Quick as a cobra, Kraus' gun swung around to bear down on Mark, and he instantly froze.

"You would be so good as to stand over there with your lovely wife, herr doctor? Good, good..." said Kraus, waving Mark over to stand beside Rene, the husband and wife standing close and now within easy view of Kraus and his firearm.

"Yes good... now my associates will be arriving in just a few minutes," he announced, holding up a radio in his free hand. "Please don't take this the wrong way but we've got to make sure you don't get in our way when they come here to ah... retrieve some merchandise we've misplaced."

"You're a poacher," Mark stated with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Mmm something like that," he replied, shaking his head from side to side in deep thought. "But these monkeys really... ah... Frank there you guys are!"

"Too us long enough!" spat out the man as he emerged from the brush, an AK-47 slung over his shoulder. He was dressed in camouflage, a classic mercenary through and through. Six more followed behind him, all of them in similar attire and brandishing similar weapons.

Rene was terrified, of course, but right now her primary concern was for Mary. She would worry about herself once her daughter was safe. If she came back now...

She didn't even want to think about that.

Mark held up his hands towards Dr. Kraus, seeing he was obviously in-charge here, and hoped to reason with him. "Jim..."

The handgun came up, pointed right between Mark's eyes. Rene stifled a gasp.

"... it doesn't have to be like this."

Kraus smirked wickedly. "Dr. Mark Votava... not the brightest scientist around... or explorer... tends to get lost more often than not, come back with virtually nothing to show for it. Tell me," he asked quietly, thumbing back the hammer of the gun casually. "... just how did a loser like you manage to win the prize I really wanted?" he asked.

Mark was confused for a moment, but then it abruptly hit him. He was talking about his wife. He and James had been friends for a long time now, and they'd known Rene for about the same length of time. James had made no secret of his affection for her, but in the end, she'd chosen to marry Mark.

Obviously, someone had borne a grudge.

"Maybe because I'm not a psychopath poacher like..."

A muffled snap.

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A boom.

Mary could hear it quite clearly. She could watch as smoke and fire engulfed the gun in Jimmy's hands. She could see clearly the way her father, strong and tall, was hurtled backwards against the tent, which collapsed against his weight. He all but vanished from view, except for his thrashing legs. After a moment, Mary realized he was still alive, and began to hope.

That hope died when Jimmy picked up a machete. Rene screamed, but the mercenaries had her surrounded. Mother and daughter alike could do nothing but watch as Jimmy brutally murdered Dr. Mark Votava.

Numb with shock, Mary could barely breath. She managed to whisper out, softly "Please get up daddy..."

But her father could not hear her anymore.

Her eyes darted frantically to her Mom, who was screaming and crying hysterically, but a rough backhand from one of the mercenaries... Larry, she think she heard was the name... rendered her unconscious. This earned -him- a blow from Dr. Kraus, who was yelling out obscenities in German, none of which Mary understood.

For which she was very grateful.

Then suddenly, one of the mercenaries, a blonde ape with a crewcut, happened to notice her where she stood, hiding partly behind a nearby tree. He cried out something, then leveled his weapon on her, and Mary's survival instincts kicked in.

She ran. An explosion of woodchips pelted her as gunfire rained down on her position, but she'd quickly ducked into the thick foliage and thus her attacker couldn't see her or hit her. It limited her vision but she didn't care. She just ran. Ran like hell.

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How long and how far she ran, Mary couldn't tell. Time was blurred. Fear had reduced her purely to a creature of raw instincts. Something very, very bad was behind her. So she ran as very fast as her short legs could carry her forward, stumbling blindly through dense foliage and over trees, over and through small streams of water.

By the time she stopped to catch her breath, she was completely lost.

She was also a mess, her legs were splattered with mud, her clothes were ripped, even the new shirt her Mom had bought just before they'd left France on this trip. She'd lost one of her shoelaces back during her mad run, and she was covered in gashes from where the sharper leaves of the jungle had sliced at her skin.

She was exhausted, and hungry, and lost, and alone, and in the middle of a hostile country with poachers and mercenaries behind her and any assortment of big, hungry predators before her.

Mary barely had enough strength to climb up into a nearby tree with a broad branch, setting her legs to either side so she wouldn't fall, and curling up asleep. She'd be safe here, she hoped.

She slept, and her dreams were dark and twisted, filled with bloodshed.

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Morning came as a welcome relief, washing away the horrors of the previous night, and for a short while after she awoke, Mary could truly believe everything was alright.

And then it all came back to her. Her dad. Her mom. Jimmy. The gunshot...

She shivered, hearing the sound echo in the back of her head. It was a sound that would haunt her for a long time. Quietly she shifted, brushing back the covers that...

Covers...!

She sat bolt upright, and the covers gave an unfriendly screech as they bolt away from her, zipping up along the tree branch to a safe distance away from her. She blinked in surprise.

It was one of the monkeys. One of the long-worded ones that Mom and Dad had been studying, she realized. She could recognize them by a distinct white patch on their chests. This one must've been a male, she remembered from her Mom's tellings. It had little tufts on the side of it's head that looked like little horns.

She'd never seen one this close before.

Evidently, this one had never seen a human being before either. And it didn't know what to make of her. Woman and monkey stared at each other for a while, gauging the other, and then slowly, hesitantly, the latter crawled down along the branch towards Mary, who remained perfectly still. As she watched, the little thing just came to a halt and sat down in front of her, tail lashing back and forth. Her eyes were drawn to it, and despite all the carnage she'd witnessed only the night before, she felt the ten-year-old innocent girl in her spring to the front of her being.

It was soooooo cuuuuuuuute!

She resisted the urge to grab it though. She might scare off the little monkey, and then she'd be all alone again. So she just sat there, quiet and still as could be, just like Mom had shown her. Don't make any sudden movements or you'll scare them. And eventually, the little monkey came right up to her and grasped her hand in his little ones. And then she realized something.

It was a baby monkey. Or a child, at least. It wasn't sure what to make of her because it was a kid, just like she was.

Right now, Mary didn't care, she just very gently wrapped her thumb around the little monkey's paw and shook it's hand, smiling. She wasn't alone anymore... and that's all that mattered.

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Ten years later.

That was when she stumbled across it. Purely by accident, of course. She'd been searching for food for the day but she'd stumbled instead back across the small river and over something hard, like a rock. To her surprise, it had been a generator. And here, and there, all buried beneath the creeping foliage.

This was the campsite. And finding it, a torrent of memories returned to her.

_Her Mom. Her dad. Jimmy, the traitor. His mercenaries. Gunshot. Running..._

She'd been a child then.

Now she was a woman. Tall, lean, but strong and tough. Her thick brown hair stretched down to her shoulders now, and her eyes were defiant and proud. She'd pieced together her clothing from an assortment of animal skins... animals she'd killed herself. Being the biggest of her little pack of monkeys made her their protector. She was determined not to lose anyone she cared about, ever again. A walking stick/staff was clutched in her hand, a tool she'd made for herself a long while back. And a useful one.

For a long time, she'd forgotten why. Now she remembered.

And it was time for her to step out of the jungle and into the world, she knew instinctively. Time for her to help protect others like her, kids who were being threatened by those with guns and machetes. To protect African wildlife from such monsters like Kraus and his mercenaries.

"Time for me to find my mother," she stated boldly. If she was alive, they deserved to be reunited. If not... she needed to know. To mourn properly.

"OOooOOeeEEeehhaaAAaaAA!" she cried, and birds fluttered in the distance, startled by her cry. Soon, all the world would hear it. To some it would bring fear. To others... hope. It would mean the same thing to them.

Monkey Woman was here.

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**Author's Notes:**

While I understand fully why Monkey Girl was eliminated from the show, to me the character had a lot of potential. I hate to see that sort of thing wasted, so I did this. I'd originally toyed with the idea of making the Zookeeper her uncle (and thus, Mark's brother), but the idea was scrapped. I also borrowed some ideas for her origins from a Teen Titan character, as some of you no doubt noticed. Next time: Monkey Woman returns to civilization.


End file.
